It's On
by starzee
Summary: The gang go to Virginia Beach for the weekend and Damon starts off the weekend by tossing Caroline into the water... so she gets him back... but he doesn't like to be outdone, does he? One Shot.


I don't own The Vampire Diaries - If I did, Damon and Caroline would live happily ever after :)

**A/N: Another attempt at a one shot. Hope you like it!**

* * *

><p>It's On<p>

* * *

><p>Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Elena and Bonnie were in Virginia Beach for the weekend. It was a hot August day two years after senior year and they were setting up their towels on the sand next to each other. Throughout all the trials with Klaus, somehow Damon had ended up good friends with Bonnie, friendlier with Caroline, he and Stefan were getting along well and he no longer had any feelings for Elena so they were just friends. Elena still had feelings for both Damon and Stefan but because she didn't want to be a vampire, she and Stefan had just decided to be friends and obviously Damon was over her so that was a non-issue.<p>

Caroline had run back to the car since she forgot her sunglasses and Bonnie happened to spot something and she chuckled.

"We're not going to see Care all day." Bonnie said to Elena amused.

"Why?" Elena asked her confused. Bonnie pointed and Elena looked then laughed. "God, she'll be in heaven." Elena giggled.

"What are you two gossiping about?" Damon asked them with a smirk.

"We were just saying that Care will be in heaven when she gets a look at them." Bonnie pointed and Damon looked. About 50 yards up the beach from them were four guys who looked to be in their early twenties and all of them were heavily tattooed with sleeves on their arms along with random other ones placed on their backs, chests, legs and stomachs.

"Why?" Damon asked sceptically.

"Hot guys covered in tattoos." Elena replied with a chuckle. "It's her thing." She said. "She's been into that since she was like ten." Elena said amused.

"Just because they're covered in drawings?" Damon asked sceptically and they both laughed.

"No idea, ask her." Bonnie replied amused. In true Damon fashion, Damon had put his towel in the middle of the girls so the five of them were next to each other and it went Stefan, Caroline, Damon, Bonnie, Elena. The four of them sat down and moments later Caroline appeared with sunglasses on.

"Couldn't find mine so I borrowed your spares, Damon." She commented as she got to them.

"Swap me." Damon said taking his off and holding them out.

"Why?" Caroline asked confused taking the ones she was wearing off. She handed them to Damon as well as his car keys and took the ones he'd been wearing.

"Because these aren't a spare pair. These were worn by James Dean in the 1950s." Damon replied.

"Oh my God! Are you joking? He wore those? That exact pair?" She exclaimed and they all chuckled at her getting so excited.

"Yes." Damon replied.

"You can't just leave stuff like that lying in the glove compartment, Damon." Caroline chastised and he smirked.

"I'll know in future, Barbie." Damon replied and she rolled her eyes. Her gaze happened to wander then down the beach and her jaw dropped. Bonnie and Elena glanced at each other amused.

"Holy..." She said then grabbed her purse. "I'm going to get an ice cream." She said then wandered down the beach in the direction the guys were since there was an ice cream stand a few feet behind where they were sitting. Bonnie and Elena laughed at her retreating form.

"Told you so." Bonnie said to Damon amused.

"She going to get a better look?" Stefan asked sceptically and they chuckled.

"Nope. She won't be back." Elena chuckled.

"Why?" Stefan asked confused.

"Because she's Caroline." Bonnie replied like it was obvious.

"Meaning what?" Stefan asked.

"She's gorgeous like a superstar so when they get a look at her, she won't be back." Elena said amused.

"Is she going to go talk to them or something?" Stefan asked sceptically and they both chuckled.

"No, of course not. She won't need to. Just watch." Bonnie chuckled. So Stefan and Damon decided to watch to see what the hell they were talking about.

Caroline went right up to the ice cream vendor and talked away to her while she decided on her ice cream. One of the guys noticed her and slapped his friend on the arm to get his attention and he looked too which made the other two look and all four of them stared at her. Caroline paid for her ice cream cone then turned on her heel and started to walk back towards the group.

One of the guys jumped up to his feet and hurried down to her and started talking to her. She glanced at him and just looked bored while she continued to lick her cone and replied a couple of times when he obviously asked her something. Then he said something that made her laugh and he smirked at her for that. He said something else and she stopped walking and turned to talk to him. Seconds later another one of the guys was hurrying down to them and he looked just as interested as the first one was.

Caroline was dressed in a nautical style blue and white striped halter skirtini with red piping. Damon had been totally checking her out since he saw her in it because _man _she looked hot. Nobody knew it, but he'd been kind of crushing (more like majorly) on her for a while – so when the other two guys _also _went to talk to her he was internally kind of pissed. He didn't want anyone to know about it though so he didn't say anything.

"Did she know that would happen?" Stefan asked Elena and Bonnie who giggled at the sight of all four of them chatting Caroline up.

"It's not the first time." Bonnie smirked.

* * *

><p>About forty minutes later, Stefan, Elena and Bonnie were down in the water and Damon opted to stay behind to 'watch the stuff' but really he was keeping an eye on Caroline. She was <em>still <em>talking to the four guys and he wasn't impressed. He didn't see the big deal of four big guys covered in stupid pictures.

Bonnie noticed Damon looking down the beach from the water and she couldn't help a chuckle. She'd realised like a year and a half earlier that Damon had a thing for Caroline but she'd never said anything about it. She understood why he wasn't trying to make a move on her but she still found it kind of funny that he was clearly jealous of the attention she was getting. Bonnie left the water and wandered up the beach and retook her seat on her towel next to Damon.

"Bored of the buzz-kills already?" Damon smirked at her and she chuckled.

"They kind of are buzz-kills, aren't they?" Bonnie asked amused and he laughed at her agreeing.

"Totally." He agreed amused.

"What's Care been doing?" She asked.

"Still talking to those guys." He replied without thinking then glanced at her and saw her smirk. He realised he'd obviously been caught looking and he scowled making her chuckle.

"I've known for well over a year and I haven't told anyone so don't be so worried." She replied amused and he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." He muttered then took a gulp from the thermos he'd filled with bourbon.

"Why haven't you said anything?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"To who?" He asked sceptically.

"Caroline." She replied.

"You know why." He muttered taking another drink.

"Things are different now, Damon." Bonnie said softly and he shrugged.

"While that may be true, it doesn't change the past." He replied. "I tried to kill her." He sighed.

"You tried to kill _everyone_." She countered and he chuckled.

"I know. Still doesn't make it forgivable." He replied.

"But she _has _completely forgiven you." Bonnie commented and Damon looked surprised.

"I didn't know that." He replied. "Still. She deserves better than me, so it's just better if I don't go there." He said.

"So you're just going to sit and be pissed and moody in Virginia Beach when you're not even going to _try_ to get her?" Bonnie asked him with a sigh.

"I'm not pissed and I'm not being moody." He replied with a smirk. "I was actually just thinking about _really _irritating Blondie." He said amused and Bonnie laughed.

"By doing what?" Bonnie asked amused.

"I don't know. Maybe throwing her into the ocean in front of all her hot guys covered in doodles." Damon wiggled his eyebrows and Bonnie laughed loudly.

"She would go _nuts _if you did that." She said and Damon flashed her a grin.

"Will you take care of these until I get back?" He pulled off his sunglasses and handed them to her and she chuckled.

"Yeah, but don't tell Care that I knew about this and didn't stop you." Bonnie smirked and he chuckled.

"Not a word, Bon." He winked at her and she giggled. Damon jumped to his feet then wandered over to where the four guys were standing drooling all over her and he smirked.

"What's up, Damon?" Caroline asked him curiously and the four guys looked at him.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" He asked and she nodded then excused herself then followed him over a bit. She looked at him expectantly.

"What?" She asked curiously and he shot her a devious smirk then picked her up bridal style and she squealed. "Put me down!" She exclaimed and he chuckled then jogged into the surf. "Don't you dare! DAMON!" She yelled and he laughed. She could hear Bonnie, Stefan and Elena laughing in the distance too. He dunked her into the water by unceremoniously tossing her in and she came up and wiped her eyes and shot him a look. "I'm so getting you back, you ass!" She warned and he chuckled then winked at her and dived into the water and disappeared in a blink. She sighed in annoyance then attempted to wipe the mascara from under her eyes so she wouldn't look like a panda.

"You okay?" She heard then looked and saw all four guys looking at her concerned.

"I'm fine." She smiled.

* * *

><p>Damon jogged up the sand from the water and sat back down next to Bonnie still looking highly amused.<p>

"That was funny." Bonnie chuckled.

"She was so pissed." He laughed.

"What did she say?" Bonnie asked amused.

"That she's going to get me back." Damon smirked and Bonnie laughed knowing Caroline wouldn't let it go.

"This is going to be hilarious." Bonnie chuckled handing him his sunglasses back.

* * *

><p>In the afternoon, Bonnie, Elena, Stefan and Damon were sitting in the beach bar having cocktails. Caroline had disappeared with the four guys hours earlier. Damon was sitting at the bar talking to three girls, charming the pants off them while Stefan, Bonnie and Elena sat at a table amused by Damon's antics. Caroline showed up out of nowhere, winked at the three at the table then went up to Damon and put a hand on her hip.<p>

"You have some nerve." Caroline said to him loudly and he looked at her confused.

"What?" He asked.

"So you have money to sit and buy cocktails but you don't have money to take the kids to the doctor? They keep asking where their daddy is and what am I supposed to tell them, Damon? That you're just don't care about them? No, as usual, all you care about is getting laid. You are such a selfish ass!" She said and his jaw dropped then she huffed, turned on her heel and stormed out of the bar, winking at the three at the table before she disappeared again. Damon was shocked to his core then the three women gave him hateful looks.

"That's so terrible." One said.

"You should be ashamed of yourself." Another said.

"Those poor kids." The third one said then they left the bar and Damon was just stunned. Stefan, Bonnie and Elena burst into hysterical laughter and Damon shook his head in disbelief. He looked out the bar door and from the distance he saw Caroline giggling. She waved at him then ran down the beach and he smirked.

"Oh, it's on, Blondie." He said deviously while the other three still laughed hysterically at the fact Caroline _actually _did that. Damon picked up his cocktail then went and sat down next to Bonnie at the table since he was clearly not going to be able to pick anyone up in that bar considering all the hateful looks he was getting from _everyone _in the bar.

"That was so funny. I can't believe she did that." Bonnie giggled.

"Neither can I." Damon chuckled.

"Think of the kids, Damon." Elena laughed and he chuckled.

"Okay, you both got each other. That's enough, I think." Stefan said to his brother warily and Damon smirked.

"Oh, no, Stefan. It's on. Blondie's going _down_." Damon smirked.

"You started it." Stefan pointed out.

"And she upped the ante." Damon said amused.

* * *

><p>About an hour and a half later, Damon, Stefan, Bonnie and Elena were walking down the beach when they spotted Caroline playing beach volleyball in the distance and they watched a devious grin appear on Damon's face.<p>

"Let's go watch Blondie play." Damon said amused.

"What are you going to do?" Stefan asked him worriedly.

"Nothing, Stefan." Damon said innocently.

* * *

><p>The four of them watched the game for about ten minutes then the teams rotated and Caroline was in the position closest to where they stood. Damon looked around to see if anyone was looking in his direction then faster than a human eye could track the movement, he darted forward to Caroline and back to his spot and seconds later... her top fell off. Stefan had seen Damon do it but couldn't stop him. Bonnie and Elena gasped and all of the guys stared at her. Caroline covered her chest with one arm and blushed <em>crimson <em>then grabbed her bikini top. Damon was full on laughing at her embarrassed face and she shot him a death glare.

"You'll regret that, Salvatore." She mumbled as she ran past them into the little changing hut.

"You did that?" Bonnie asked him shocked and he winked at her then she laughed.

"That's so much worse." Elena said then couldn't help a giggle.

"Let's see what she comes up with for a retaliation." Damon chuckled.

"That was mean, Damon." Stefan said annoyed.

"No it wasn't. It was funny." Damon chuckled.

* * *

><p>That evening after dinner, the four of them were sitting in a lively bar having drinks. They hadn't seen Caroline for hours. All of a sudden the music stopped.<p>

"Hey, everyone." They heard Caroline say through a microphone. The whole bar looked to the stage where she was standing with a spotlight on her. Damon smirked knowing it was time for her retaliation. "Just one minute and I'll let you get back to your evenings." She smiled and everyone watched her. "I'm just so proud, I couldn't resist." She grinned and Damon cocked an eyebrow at her not seeing where she was going with this. "My friends Stefan, Elena, Bonnie and I are here in Virginia Beach celebrating our friend Damon." She smiled and he was kind of confused. "Can we get a spotlight on him? That's him back there. Gorgeous, raven hair, blue eyes you could get lost in." She pointed to him then suddenly there was a spot light on him so he knew she'd obviously compelled them. He shot her an amused look and she winked at him.

"That's him. Isn't he gorgeous?" She smiled. Bonnie, Elena and Stefan were trying not to crack up into laughter at the fact Caroline was clearly about to embarrass him in front of hundreds of people. "I just wanted to say, Damon, we're all so proud of you for finally coming out of the closet and being so strong through what must have been a tough time for you." She said and Damon's jaw dropped. "You are so special and wonderful, you'll make a lucky man very happy one day. Let's hear it for Damon!" She exclaimed and the whole bar started applauding and Damon closed his eyes in disbelief at the fact probably 300 people now thought he was gay!

"He's out and he's proud! Get him a drink, boys!" Caroline said then got off the stage and disappeared while Stefan, Bonnie and Elena laughed hysterically and the spotlight finally got turned off.

"I am going to _kill _her." Damon said into his hands and they laughed. Moments later a guy asked to buy Damon a drink and he groaned while the other three practically fell off their seats with laughter.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Stefan, Bonnie and Elena met up with Caroline in a night club. They danced and drank and nobody had seen Damon for a couple of hours. Caroline was dancing with one of the guys she'd been on the beach with earlier and the other three were nearby. The music in the club suddenly stopped then five police officers appeared and went straight over to Caroline grabbed her hands and handcuffed them behind her back.<p>

"What the hell?" She exclaimed.

"Caroline Forbes. You are under arrest for solicitation and engaging in sexual intercourse for a fee. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." One policeman said and she was beyond shocked.

"You're a prostitute?" The guy who was dancing with her asked her wide eyed in disbelief.

"No! Of course not!" She exclaimed. She turned to look at one of the police officers in the eyes. "Let me go." She compelled and he chuckled.

"As if your compulsion could ever override your sire's." The police officer smirked and her jaw dropped. Bonnie, Elena and Stefan were frozen in shock while dying to laugh at the fact Damon _actually did that_ while Caroline was carted out of the club with her hands cuffed behind her back since obviously she couldn't break out of the cuffs and run in front of hundreds of people. The three of them hurried after her and when the police and Caroline got out onto the street, Damon was leaning against the police car with a chuckle.

"I'm going to kill you!" Caroline squealed in disbelief and he smirked.

"Hear that boys? She threatened my life. Better lock her up tight." He said amused and she gaped at him.

"You have got to be joking!" She exclaimed and he laughed.

"They have a nice cell with vervain coated bars waiting for you at the station." He smirked.

"It's not enough that the whole club thinks I'm a hooker?" She glared at him and he laughed.

"Oh, alright." He replied amused. "She's free to go." Damon said to the officers who un-cuffed her.

"You are so going to regret this." She warned him then disappeared in a blink and he chuckled.

"Damon, that was too far." Stefan said with deep disapproval and Damon deadpanned at him.

"_You _weren't asked out by five guys and groped by another two." Damon reminded him and they laughed.

"Okay, you have a point." Stefan chuckled.

"But a prostitute? Really?" Elena asked him amused.

"When is this little game going to stop? It's already going crazy." Bonnie said amused.

"Let's see what else Blondie comes up with." Damon smirked.

* * *

><p>"Damon. Wake up." He felt someone shaking him and he groggily opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor of the living room of their shared rented apartment for the weekend and it was clearly early in the morning.<p>

"What's wrong? What happened?" Stefan asked him.

"Vervain." Damon muttered as he rubbed his eyes with his hand.

"You were vervained?" Elena asked shocked.

"Why were you bleeding?" Stefan asked him.

"Where?" Damon asked and Stefan pointed to the small blood stains on the top of his left arm on his dark blue shirt. Damon unbuttoned his shirt and took his arm out and was confused.

"Why is there a bandage on your arm? You don't need a bandage." Bonnie said confused meaning his supernatural healing.

"Who knows?" Damon muttered then pulled the bandage off and they all _gaped_ at his arm. "WHERE IS SHE?" Damon yelled and the other three burst into hysterical laughter. There on the top of his left arm was a large red love heart tattooed with 'Caroline' written on a banner across it being held by two light blue sparrows. Damon darted into the bathroom and started to scrub his arm. "It's real! She..." He left the bathroom and stared at them in shock. "It's a real tattoo!" He exclaimed and they looked shocked.

"Oh my God." Bonnie gasped trying to contain her giggles.

"Oh, this deserves payback of EPIC proportions." Damon said pulling off his shirt the rest of the way then dumping it on the couch.

"Damon. Please. Think about it before you do something crazy." Stefan pleaded. Damon turned around to stare at Stefan.

"She. Tattooed. My. Arm... That. Will. Be. There. FOREVER!" Damon yelled through gritted teeth.

"Could be worse." Stefan replied. "She could have tattooed like... a dick on your arm." He said and Damon scowled at him while Bonnie and Elena laughed.

"You could just do the same thing back." Elena replied and Damon looked at her surprised.

"Get my name tattooed on her?" Damon asked.

"On her ass." Elena giggled and Damon shot her a look.

"I'm not letting some stranger look at her ass, Elena." Damon replied and both Stefan and Elena were mildly surprised that he was even _remotely _protective of Caroline. Bonnie gave him a small smile for that. "Hmm..." He smirked then chuckled. "She's going to be pissed." He said amused.

"Damon? What are you doing?" Stefan asked him seriously and Damon smirked.

"You'll see." Damon said amused. "Now, where are those vervain darts?" He asked.

* * *

><p>Caroline woke up groggily and blinked her eyes. She saw she was in the apartment they'd rented. She got out of her bed then wandered into the living room and saw Damon smirking at her while the other three looked kind of apprehensive.<p>

"Did you vervain me?" Caroline asked him and he chuckled.

"You went there first." He smirked and her eyes widened.

"Oh, God! What did you do? And where?" She asked worriedly then ran back into her room and pulled her top off. She looked in the mirror and couldn't see anything on her arms or back, she turned around... nothing on her sides, stomach or chest. She checked her legs, behind her ears, her feet... nothing. She replaced her clothes then walked back into the living room and looked at him confused. "I'm clearly missing something." She said and he smirked. He stood up shot her an amused look then walked over to the door and left with a wink. "What did he do?" She asked them.

"Honestly, we don't know. He won't tell us." Stefan replied.

"It's clearly really bad then." Caroline bit her lip nervously.

"You tattooed your name on his arm. It's a really big tattoo. He'll have that forever. You really should have thought that one through, Care." Bonnie replied.

"I need to go find out what he did." Caroline said worriedly then darted out the door.

* * *

><p>Caroline looked for Damon for ages and eventually found him sitting on the pier at the end of it with his legs hanging over the edge. He had a bottle of bourbon and he was just staring out at the water. She walked up to him and sat next to him.<p>

"What did you do? I checked my whole body." She replied and he looked at her for a moment.

"Nothing." He replied and she looked confused.

"Nothing? Then why'd I wake up from vervain?" She asked and he sighed.

"I found a tattoo guy, vervained you, took you there... then I couldn't do it." He replied and she looked kind of shocked.

"Why?" She asked confused.

"You were lying there unconscious, the guy was preparing that machine thing... then I saw your neck." He replied. "It's too faint for a human to spot... but you have scars there." He said looking out into the water. "And I thought it would be cruel to put yet another reminder of me on your body. So I didn't." He said and she could hear the guilt in his voice. He stood up then and started to walk away and Caroline was stunned by what he said. Her eyes filled with tears and she jumped to her feet.

"Damon?" She called and he turned around and looked at her. Caroline was surprised at the pain written all over his face.

"You're not even mad that I tattooed your arm?" She asked him confused and he shook his head.

"Having your name on me doesn't bother me." He replied and she looked shocked and confused.

"Why?" She asked sceptically.

"I'm sorry for tossing you into the water." He said. "I only did it because I was jealous." He replied and her jaw dropped. "Having your name on my arm forever doesn't bother me because I'm in love with you." He said and she felt like she might fall over in shock. She blinked rapidly and two tears fell down her face. "Just, forget the game. I won't do anything else." He said.

"Wait." But he was already gone and Caroline's legs gave out and she just sat on the pier staring in shock while tears streamed down her face. She'd had no idea he felt that way – but she knew what she had to do.

* * *

><p>Damon was <em>pissed <em>that he told her that. He hadn't meant to tell her that. But she'd been so beautiful and vulnerable and sweet and he couldn't really help blurting it out. He hadn't told her that to get anything out of her, he hadn't told her that to be with her – he'd just told her so she'd know that while he could do the embarrassing pranks, he just wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her again; he couldn't.

Stefan was sitting on the couch in their rented weekend apartment with a drink while Damon stood pouring himself one while Elena and Bonnie sat on the couch doing their makeup since they were going out for dinner. Caroline hadn't been back all day, it was four hours earlier that Damon saw her on the pier and Elena and Bonnie were just finishing the last touches on their makeup.

That was the moment she decided to walk into the apartment. Damon tried his best not to look overly affected by her showing up. He so did not want Stefan and Elena knowing about how he felt since they'd start brooding in overdrive. Caroline, however, looked kind of pissed.

"How long?" She asked him and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he took a drink.

"How long what?" He asked her sceptically.

"How long have you been in love with me?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest in front of him and his eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the fact she was doing _this _in front of everyone. He gave her a look of disbelief while Elena and Stefan looked kind of shocked. Bonnie looked like she was trying not to laugh at Caroline being so _Caroline _and at how mortified Damon looked.

"Uh..." Damon replied as he swallowed shocking Elena and Stefan further that he wasn't instantly denying it. "Is there a reason you want to talk about this _now_?" He asked her wide eyed and he was sure he was blushing to the roots of his hair.

"Yes." She replied like it was obvious and he looked at her a little startled at the fact she was just so fine with having everyone hear a private conversation.

"Well... there isn't anything to talk about." He said and she shot him a look.

"How long, dammit?" She asked him annoyed and he rolled his eyes – he figured he wasn't getting out of it.

"Like two years." Damon replied casually with a shrug and she looked shocked as did Stefan and Elena.

"Two _years_? You're a dumbass." Caroline replied and he couldn't help a tiny snigger at that.

"Why's that?" He asked.

"Because I love you too!" She replied like it was so obvious and Damon just _stared _at her.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Everyone knows that." Caroline said like it was so obvious and Damon glanced at Stefan and Elena who were nodding their agreement. Damon then shot Bonnie a look for not telling him that when she knew how _he _felt.

"In my defence, I thought you knew and you were just being difficult." Bonnie said and Caroline, Stefan and Elena gaped at Bonnie.

"Oh my God! You knew and didn't say anything?" Caroline asked her in disbelief. "Well, this is just wonderful." She muttered and Damon couldn't help an embarrassed chuckle because he was mortified and kind of amused all at once. Caroline then turned to look at Damon again like he was stupid. "You honestly didn't know? Mr Cocky is that blind? Honest to God, Damon, you really need to..." Damon rolled his eyes at her rambling then grabbed her face and kissed her to silence her and Stefan, Elena and Bonnie's jaws dropped at that then Damon pulled away and smirked at her.

"Shut up, Blondie." He said amused and she blinked her eyes a few times.

"You kissed me." She said startled and he couldn't help another chuckle.

"So you noticed that then?" He mocked and she shot him a look while Bonnie couldn't help a laugh at Damon being such an ass. "Okay, shows over, you three _out_." He said pointing to the door.

"But this is better than TV." Bonnie said amused and Damon crossed his arms over his chest and shot her a look.

"Out." He repeated and they sighed.

"And you call _me_ a buzz-kill." Stefan muttered as the three of them trudged out the door and Damon smirked at that.

"No listening either." Damon called and heard Stefan whisper 'damn him drinking human blood' then heard the three of them leave the apartment building. He was a bundle of nerves as Caroline watched him with her hands on her hips.

"Two _years_?" She asked him annoyed. "Why didn't you ever say anything?" She asked him confused and he sighed.

"I tried to kill you." He reminded her like it was so obvious and she rolled her eyes.

"You tried to or _did _kill _everyone_." She countered.

"I know that. But I don't love everyone else." He replied like it was so obvious.

"What does that mean?" Caroline asked confused.

"It means that while, yes, I do love you, I know that I'm not good enough for you so I was never going to tell you." He said and she looked kind of shocked.

"So you love me but you don't want to be with me. That's what you're saying in essence." She said stoically trying to keep from getting upset and he sighed.

"No, that's not it." He replied softly. "I'm not a good guy, Caroline, and I never will be." He said. "So I didn't want to do that to you because you deserve a good guy." He said.

"Then why _did _you tell me if you didn't want to tell me?" She asked annoyed.

"I didn't tell you in the hope it would change things, I just told you so that you would know that while I'm fine with the crazy pranks... I'll never do anything ever again to hurt you." He said and her breath hitched.

"But I knew that already." She replied softly. "I don't care if you're not a typical 'good guy'. I don't want that. I want _you_. Just as you are." She said and he sighed. He felt his stomach flutter at that even though he knew they shouldn't be talking about this.

"But, Caroline..."

"Damon?" She cut him off and he watched her. "Do you want to be with me or not?" She asked him.

"It's not that simple." He replied.

"Yeah, it is." She countered. "When feelings are involved, it's a two way street, Damon. You don't get to make decisions on what you think is best for me. So, if you personally want to give this a try, it's up to _me _to decide whether that is good for me or not, you don't get to dictate that." She said and he looked surprised. He saw her point.

"I don't know how to be with someone, Caroline." He said and she shrugged.

"There's no set way. It's not like I'm an expert either. We can make it up as we go along." She said and he chuckled at her response.

"I just don't want to disappoint you." He said and she sighed. She knew she was going to have to really go for it because he was as stubborn as she was.

"You said earlier that you didn't want to leave another reminder of yourself on me." She said and she saw the guilt on his face. "But what you don't get, Damon..." She said. "_Everything _reminds me of you." She said and he looked surprised. "Movies that you've mentioned, bands you like, whiskey, sunglasses, crows, blue cars, classic cars, leather jackets, dark hair, blue eyes, sharks, anything Italian... when you love someone, everything reminds you of them so the scars... I don't see them as a bad thing because if that hadn't happened... I wouldn't have gotten the chance to get to know you for real." She said and Damon felt quite emotional internally. "Besides, I know fine well if I cut a little chunk out of the skin, the scars would be gone once the skin healed back. They don't bother me. I don't think of you as the guy who fed on me. You're just... Damon, who I love." She said. "So... I figured I'd finish what you couldn't." She said and he looked at her confused. She lifted up her top a little and pulled her shorts down two inches on one side and there on her left hip sat a love heart with Damon on the banner and his breath hitched and his stomach erupted into butterflies. "So I suggest you stop being an idiot and kiss me already." She said and he stared at her for a second while she let her top fall back down. He couldn't _believe _she'd done that... but he did as she said. He stepped forward and crashed his lips to hers. She pulled him closer and kissed him back and he wrapped his arms around her. He pulled away to look at her seconds later and he smiled.

"You didn't really forget your sunglasses, did you?" He asked her and she giggled.

"No, I just wanted to wear yours." She replied and he smirked.

"I love you." He replied and she smiled.

"I love you too." She replied and he felt so happy in that moment. "Though, if you ever have me arrested for being a hooker again, I'll kick your ass." She said and he laughed.

"You told hundreds of people that I'm gay." He countered and she giggled. "If it makes you feel better, I got hit on by a lot of guys." He said and she laughed loudly.

"That's funny." She said amused. "We probably shouldn't come back to Virginia Beach." She said and he chuckled.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Well, everyone here thinks I'm a hooker whose bikini top falls off and they think you're a gay dad who doesn't see his kids." She smirked and he laughed.

"I probably should have just kissed you." He replied and she laughed.


End file.
